Three journalists have been detained in Ethiopia under the state of emergency laws and accused of giving publicity to a group designated by the government as a terrorist organisation.

One of those arrested is a freelance video journalist accredited to The Associated Press, Amir Aman Kiyaro.

Two local journalists, Thomas Engida and Addisu Muluneh, have also been detained.

Police say the journalists violated the state of emergency law and Ethiopia’s anti-terrorism law.

AP’s executive editor Julie Pace said these were "baseless allegations".

The news agency says its journalist has been covering both sides of the war.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemned the arrests and called for the immediate release of all journalists arrested for their work.

The CPJ says a police spokesperson Jeylan Abdi had told them that contacting a group designated as a terrorist group was a crime under the country’s anti-terror law and not an act of journalism.

Several journalists have been detained under the state of emergency laws.